Editorial
THE CHARLOTTE LABOR JOURNAL
AND DIXIE FARM NEWS
Published at Charlotte, North Carolina
OLDEST LABOR PUBLIC VH N IN THE TWO CAROLINES
A. Stall*, Editor and Publish*. W. M. Witter, Associate Editor
Entered as second-claai mail matter September 11, 1931, at the
Post Office at Charlotte, N. C„ under the Act of Con«reaa o,
March 3. 1879. . :V..., C - ___
Endorsed by Charlotte Typographical Union, Number 338, An Af
flliate of Charlotte Central Labor Union and the North Carolina Fed
eration of Labor.
The Labor Journal will not be reiponaible for the opinion! of cor
respondents, but any erroneous reflection upon the character, itana
ing or reputation of any person, firm or corporation m«y ap
pear in the columns of The Labor Journal will be corrected a hen
called to the attention of the publisher. Correspondence and Open
Forum opinions solicited, but The Journal reserves,the right to reject
objectionable reading matter and advertising at all times.
2
SOME PROGRESS RECORDED BY STATE FED
CONVENTION
The 1950 convention of the North Carolina Federation
of Labor, which came to a close Wednesday afternoon in
Winston-Salem, saw many delegations clamoring for a change
in the leadership North Carolina American Federation oi
Labor Unions have been under for the past 13 years—*
leadership which has been not altogether competent to
guide the destinies of a combination of AFL organizations
in our state who are endeavoring to put North ( arolina
Labor in the forefront of all Southern States, from the
standpoint of organization work and union activities in
general.
And why nqt? North Carolina is at the top, or is near
the top, of all southern industrial activity. The output
of the textile industry alone is perhaps the largest of any
other section of the country unless 'it be the highly in
dustrialized New England States.
The Textile industry is only one field for organization
work. There are many others ripe and ready to pluck—
to bring into our ranks to swell the memberships of our
national, international, federal and local labor unions. We
have here a large agricultural paradise. The tobacco in
dustry is huge. There is much to be done in further or
ganizing this industry. The CIO'is making progress right
under the noses of the AFL leaders who have not bothered
too much about organizing these workers in recent years.
If the CIO can get them, why can’t the State AFL officials
do something about getting them?
One thing conspicuous at our state conventions is the
absence of any real constructive program for rectifying the
apathy that exists. The state president either does not
know how to formulate plans to get and to hold the affilia
tions of the American Federation of Labor unions repre
sented in North Carolina, who are not now affiliated, or
else he is to busy keeping his political machine built up
to exert the necessary effort toward this wdrk.
One thing is sure: The 1950 session indicates that many
loyal affiliated unions are awakening to the vital tasks
that lie ahead and desire to also awaken their sister unions
to their full responsibilities as members of what should
be the leading State (A. F. L.) Labor movement in the
South. These members also want a better co-ordinated
political activity exerted than has been put forth in the
past. The defeat of Labor's friend, Senator Frank P.
Graham, has greatly magnified this desire. The Labor
Journal sees signs over the horizon that the rank and file
intend to have a greater voice in their state union activi
ties than they have had in the past, which includes bet
ter public relations, the promotion of better labor publica
tions and greater organization work, and closer scrutiny of
candidates seeking public office.
Also, The Journal has faith enough In the AFL member
ship to believe that they abhor the tactics used by the
leadership of the North Carolina Federation of Labor dur
ing the past year in sending out letters to North Carolina
advertisers, knocking The Charlotte Labor Journal, the
oldest American Federation of Labor publication in the
two Carolinas, and notifying the advertisers that The Fed
eration ist is the only approved publication of the North
Carolina Federation of Labor, after it was brought out in
convention proceedings this week that The Federationist
is owned by an individual who pays tax to the State Fed
eration each month for the privilege of operating same.
The Labor Journal has not knocked the Federationist to
the advertisers of this state, although personally the editor
does not believe it right for the Federation to sell advertis
ing in competition to labor papers whose owners have
huge investments in printing machinery and other equip
ment. The matter of raising revenue for State Federation
operations should be supplied through increased organiza
tion and sufficient per capita tax from affiliated unions.
We need more and more labor papers. Some means
should be devised by the North Carolina Federation of La
bor to promote labor publications, rather than destroy
them in order to provide a monoply for a state magazine
published monthly, which the officers are sponsoring.
When the Federationist was first started the publisher
agreed by contract with the N. C. Federation of Labor to
not go into a city where another labor paper was being1
published unless he secured the consent of the publisher
and the executive board of the Central Labor Union in that
city. That agreement did not last very long. The Feder
ationist officials want to go into a Labor paper's jurisdic
tion and sell advertising, but when the Labor paper goes
out into other fields—well that’s a cat of another color.
More power* to those stalwarts who started the hall
rolling this week to get our house put in order 1
, Discuss Aging Problems
vlTT TrV AtfminUtrator Oku Ewimf (rifkt),
^£s«2 svs&ttsxz.
Raleigh, N. C.—Rural aehooli
will be opening in a couple of
weeks, and the State had made
big plans to provide around 1.00C
new school buses.
Most of them will be ready.
But a lot of school kids will ride
to school in old, ramshackeltj
buses because one firm—Hackney
Brothers of Wilson—has failed
to live up to their contract.
Their failure may cost them as
much as $150,000, but it won’1
help get several hundred school
buses out where they’re needed
badly.
April 7 the State Division of
Purchase and Contract signed a
contract- with Hackney Brothers
(T. J. Hackney of Wilson is the
firm’s president) to build 450
school bus bodies. The state was
to provide the chassis—delivery
1 of which began to Hackney on
May 10 Hackney Brothers, un
der the contract, were to have
delivered buses beginning 30 days
after that at the rate of 7 per
cent per week until all were
finished—which would have given
the State the last of the buses
j by September 1.
Thirty-two buses were due by
June 9. But none were delivered.
By July 13, 157 buses were due.
But Hackney had delivered none.
On July 13 Charley Williams,
director of the Division of Pur
chase and Contract got a letter
from C. C. Brown, director of
the State Board of Education’s
Division of Transportation.
Brown said that none of the
!157 buses due had been delivered,
j He further stated that the pilot
model which Hackney Anally
delivered about July 1 had had
i 24 items which did not meet
| specifications of the State con
j tract. In addition, Hackney had
1 never corrected those items—or
' at least had never shown the
State that he had.
On July 14, Williams wrote
Hackney asking a written expla
nation as to why no buses had
been delivered by him. Williams
added that unless Hackney took
immediate action, the State would
go where it could get the job
done.
Hackney replied July 18,
stating that a shortage of steel
(20-gauge stretcher-level steel,
he called it) was causing the
holdup. He said he had a con
tract with a “reliable” steel mill
but that the steel had not been
delivered as yet. Hackney claimed
that he still could get the buses
to the sheool system in time if
he could get the steel.
But his capacity is rated at
50 buses per week. Thus it
would take at least nine weeks
after getting the steel — which
had not been done at this writ
ing—to fill the contract.
Williams held several confer
ences with Hackney, but could
get no sssurancea that the Wilson
firm could carry out its contract.
On July 26 Williams again
wrote Hackney. He told him he
had not met terms of the con
tract and that he had not ad
justed the pilot model to meet
specifications.
Williams letter laid it on the
line.- -—--—
"Since you nave noi compueo
with the contract, the State finds
it necessary to go into the mar
ket to get IDO buses built else
where . . . any added cost will
be your responsibility."
The 100 bus contract went to
Quality Equipment Company of
Charlotte in July and that com
pany is rolling them off on sched
ule. And each of the buses will
cost the Hackney firm some $90
—cost over their own bid plus
freight to Charlotte of the 100
chassis for the Quality outfit to
use in building the buses.
As of August 10 some 3S0
bare chassis were standing at
Hackney’* The Wilson outfit
still had no steel, but claimed
it had a bill of lading showing
that the steel was being shipped.
Williams said he will give the
Hackney outfit a “reasonable”
time to get the steel and begin
delivering the other 300 buses.
“But we can’t break faith
with the school kids” Williams
said. “These buses were to have
been ready by the beginning of
school and we’re going to get
them out as near that time as
possible. If we have to. we’ll
place the contract for the other
300 buses with another firm and
Hackney will have to pay the
difference between his bid and
the cost plus extra freight.”
William* said the only com
pany that had ever “nibbled” on
the idea of building the 3©0bu»e*
wanted $500 more for each bu*
than Hackney’* contracted price.
-This would mean that Hackney'
Brothers would have to pay the
1500 — each difference -*» which
would amount to $150,000—plus
any extra freight charges. Added
to the $9>000 they already have
lost, the final figure might run
to a $175,000 bite out of Hack
ney's pocket.
Williams said that the State |
starts its bids on buses earlier
than any one in the country in
order to give the body builders
plenty of time to get them ready i
by school opening. The . bidding
, was made in March and the con
tracts let April 7.
! Hackney has never explained i
! why he did not either have the 1
! necessary steel on hand or an ■■
assured contract for the steel be- i
fore bidding on the buses. It 1
also is possible that the company
■ had the necessary steel, but used
it , for other purposes. 1
j At any rate, that’s the Wil
son firm’s headache. Williams j
says that the State is going to j
! get the buses, even if Hackney
j is forced to pat out some $150,
000 or more in order that it be
done.
The only reason the State
hasn’t demanded immediate ac
tion, yanked the 300 - bus chas
sis out and let Hackney pay the
hill is because it doesn’t want to
-hurt a North Carolina industry
if it can help it.
But. if Heckney doesn’t come
through with some steel and
some progress within the next
! week or ten days you can look 1
j for quick action. *
In contrast to the Hackney
failure, is the action of the
Thomas body-building firm of,
High Point. On April 7, Thomas
got a contract on 250 buses. The
firm turned them out on sched
ule—did such a good job that in
June the High Point firm got a
contract for 226 more buses.
Thomas still fa on schedule—ap
parently isn’t having any steel
problems. And the buses meet
contract specifications, too.
The most ironical thing about
the fight over giving school
teachers a chunk of the $13,000,
000 (surplus or cash balance,
take your pick) is that nobody
in the legislature thought there
would be one when they passed
that little section known as 20 H
of the appropriations bill.
That’s the little piece of fancy ,
writing that says teachers should ]
get a retroactive pay raise last |
June 30 “if there was a surplus.” ,
In fact, the only, speculation ,
was as to how mucyof a deficit \
the State would have at the end
of the 1949-50 fiscal year. ]
Now the teachers—particularly «
the N. C. Education Association j
— claim there’s a $13,000,000 i
surplus. Assistant Budget Pi- j
rector Dave Coltrane calls it j
“cash balance” and says it’ll be <
needed to balance the budget for i
the current year. In January '
1949, the current fiscal year’s
i
estimated income was fixed at
$129,000,000. Appropriations for
1960-51 are $142,000,000.
When the Advisory Budget
Commission met with the Gov
ernor last week, it stuck to the *
nearly two-year-old estimated in- i
come of $129,000,000—despite in
dication of much more — and
agreed unanimously that there
was but some $860,000 surplus
and that wasn't enough to pay
“in multiples of two per cent"
as the law stated.
The six-man budget commission
is four-two anti-administration.
Senators Edwin Pate of Laurtn
burg and Grady Rankin of Gas
tonia, and Representatives Frank 1
Taylor of Goldsboro and Larry ■
Moore of Wilson generally are 1
classed as Scott opponents. Ap- <
pointees Harry Caldwell of 1
Greensboro ami Alonzo Edwards 1
of Hookerton are pro-Scott,
Before the meeting, the Gover
or said he would stand by the
Advisory Budget Commission’s;
decision fi
The decis'on was unanimous 1
that there was not enough sur-!{
plus to pay the teachers j1
What isn’t generally known, is;
that Taylor—always conservative \
—set the pace. He always has j
been a watchdog on the State’s j‘
spending. He could have waged
£AT YOUR SPINACH!
IWM'TCOW* JOKtf
—and perhaps won — a fight to
five the teachers the $6,000,000
hey claim they should get now.
tnd it’s possible that such a
nove would have caused a deficit
>y the end of the year, which
aould have necessitated an
icross-the-board salary cut for
ill State employes and, inciden
;ally, made Governor Scott rath
?r unpopular—to say the least.
But Taylor thought more of;
he State's credit than that—and
nuch as he might like to see
Scott embarrassed, acted a* he
lid.
His action could possibly cost
aim \he speakership of the 1941 ;
House, if the teachers put enough j
pressure on their own represen-;
natives.
And the teaehers are hoi about
t—at least the NCEA itself is.
tirs. Ethel Perkins Edwards, the
S'CEA executive secretary, says'
»JCEA is not planning a court
iuit. They have asked the gov
ernor and Advisory Budget Com
nission to reconsider their action,
lowever, and have called on At
orney General Harry McMullan
or an opnion on the legal as
pects bf the case.
Actually, the whole thing is
;he governor’s baby. The law
iays the Advisory Budget Com
mission is just that. He can
jverrule the commission any time
ie sees fit, although governors
isually don’t.
Once, more Kerr Scott’s on the
hot spot—a situation that must
seem normal to him by now.
The State Highway Commia-1
sion expects to have 40 per
rent of the secondary road
ttuilding program completed by
September 30. If that happens,
t will mean that six months of
work have seen more than 2,000
miles of rural roads paved and
mother nearly 3,000 miles stabi
ized under the $200,000,000 bond
>rogram. And it will bring the
otal of secondary roads paved
inder the Scott Administration
o approximately 3,500.
_
Sven the pigeons on Capitol
Square are suspicious these hot
tolitical days. A car backfired
he other afternoon and several
mndred of the birds took to the
iirways immediately. They dr
ied the Capitol for several min
ites before deciding that they
veren’t caught in a Scott and
inti-Seott crossfire, then settled
tack to mooching peanuts from
tassersby.
Nobody’s hoarding these days,
hey’re just buying up stuff to
keep the hoaders from getting
t"
A quick check around Raleigh
irought this picture:
Restaurants - Operators being
old by their state organisation
0 “raise prices or go broke.”
Hheir food costs are jumping—
ip 15 to 20 per cent in the last
oonth and a half. One said he
risked OPA would come back.
If they don’t do that, or stop
he wholesale price boosting, I’ll
tave to go out of business.” This
a me man said the better restau
ants are keepiffg the same
laulity food but are raising
trices. If the prices on the menu
ire the same as they were a
ouple of months ago, he said,
rou can be sure that quality of
ood has suffered.
Office supplies — One salesman
laid folks are buying “enough
stuff to run them for a couple
>f years.” Outfits usually giving
1 $25 order now are buying in
he hundreds of dollars class.
Groceries—From all over the
state it’s the same story, folks
ire loading up on sugar, canned
roods, processed i meats. One
:lerk here said folks who never
bought more than two to five
pounds of sugar a week now are
staggering out of his store with
50 or more pounds of the sweet
stuff. “Makes you ashamed of
bein’ a human,” he said.
Florists supplies — Wholesalers
are being swamped. One Pied
mont North Carolina florist —
usually a few-dollar-at-at-time
buyer—recently sent in an order
that included $250 worth of rib
bon. Incidentally, the cost of
ribbon is going up. It’s made
in North Carolina, sent to New
York and given a new name,
then sent back at twice the cost.
And that's another thing. We
talk about “living at home.” yap
about . bringing newr industry ter
North Carolina and the South
And our own manufacturers are]
eai petbagging us to death. It j
looks a little crazy to me—you
have to buy something made in
North Carolina out of New York.
In addition to the middleman
profit you have to pay, you’re
nicked for the freight there and
back.
North Carolina and the South
will never get out of their eco
nomic hole until manufacturers
build up their own sales and dis
tribution systems. We’ve got to
stop handing out southern cash
to Yankee middlemen—especially
when those dollars could so easily
be kept at home.
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